The College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University has appointed Dr. Jeffrey Steiner as the new director of the Global Hemp Innovation Center (GHIC).
Steiner has served as the associate director of the GHIC since 2019, helping to expand the center, develop new programs, and cultivate relationships with partner institutions. Prior to his arrival he served as division director for plant production at the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in Washington, DC. He was the NIFA technical lead for hemp, and helped establish department policies for utilizing grant programs for hemp research. He also served as the NIFA representative to the first nation-wide Hatch multi-state research project for industrial hemp, and advised the USDA Office of the Chief Scientist in the organization of the first department-wide symposium to update employees on the status of hemp science.
Steiner has broad leadership experience in government and academic settings conducting and administering food and agriculture, natural resources, and bioenergy systems research. As a science expert for food and agriculture systems, he has served as an adviser to political appointees and government officials, as well as to commodity, conservation, and economic development organizations.
Steiner is a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and recipient of the career CSSA Seed Science Award. He was raised on a diversified family farm near Visalia in the California San Joaquin Valley where his parents grew cotton, alfalfa hay, grain, and fruit and nut tree crops, and raised hogs and cattle.
Steiner will replace current director Dr. Jay Noller, who launched the GHIC in 2019 as the largest and most comprehensive research center of its kind in the nation. Noller is an international research leader in hemp and will remain a professor emeritus at OSU.
Please join us in thanking Dr. Noller for his outstanding contributions to GHIC, and welcoming Dr. Steiner as the new director.